Truthful Tuesday

 

Guys. My horses will be home in 15 days and I feel woefully unprepared for their arrival. I mean... Kind of. Not really. I need to order feed and shavings, but I do have enough shavings to get the stalls ready. Really the barn is in good shape. And I've made a dent in all the laundry so that's good too. But the ring which doubles as a turnout space... not so ready. I went out there yesterday planning to set a new course and have it ready for my helper to drag. Key word, PLANNING.

So prior to heading outside I stopped in the barn for a trash bag (for some of the fill that didn't make it through winter) and my measuring tape to measure any related distances. Of course the measuring tape was missing. I looked absolutely everywhere before reaching out to my helper who told me he borrowed it. Sigh. Of course he did. That's okay, I can always measure another day! Out I went!

I got busy retrieving things that had blown around (it's been a windy winter here) and then I saw it. It looked like a big hole in the ring. Oh dear. A sink hole? I got closer. Nope not a sink hole. But an enormous rock that looks my helper must have discovered and started to dig out but then apparently abandoned the project? Double sigh. My knee has been angry so digging up a rock isn't on my to do list at the moment. I'll leave that for him. But like, we gotta get this done and then filled with stone dust before the horses come home. My worker doesn't have set hours when the horses aren't here other than he is supposed to come in at some point each weekday, so while I was hoping to see him this morning, I didn't. If he's not here tomorrow before I go to the barn, I'll just have to reach out and schedule a quick meeting. It's crunch time! And I can't have holes in the ring. 

So I guess my confession today is that I haven't been staying on top of things around here and because of that I now feel a bit stressed about getting things ready for horses. No one's fault by my own of course. But I do have to ask, why do people start things, not say a word about them, and then not finish them? Like I shouldn't have just discovered a partially dug up rock. I should have been informed of it, or it should have just been taken care of. But alas. Here we are. At least he found it though, right? That's the bright side. It was found by a human and not the hard way by an equine. 

Oh my other confession is that it got too late and I didn't finish moving the jumps. And then tonight it was raining. Maybe tomorrow!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! Another weak one... I forgot entirely to get horse photos, but like last time I did that it's not a new outfit so I will hunt the archives for appropriate photos. So let's start with my outfit since I did remember those photos this week.

Yep, still green and tan over here. There will be more tan next week, but it will be something fun. Unlike today which is kinda dull. 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS MIPS

Okay, yes, recycled photo here too. But I found in which I am wearing a similarly colored top! So bonus points for that?

Sweater: Caslon

I'm pretty sure I've worn this one for you guys before. My dad and stepmom got it for me for Chanukah. 

Belt: Tory Burch

I wear this one a lot, and I'm impressed with the quality. I've had it for several years now, and it still looks new.

Breeches: Horze

These breeches are also super old. They're holding up well for how long I've had them. I like them especially because they run a little big so I don't feel so bad about the few pounds I packed on this winter when I wear them. 

Boots: Horka

Still wearing these guys! Chances are pretty good that I'll keep them at the barn until it's time to come home. So you'll likely be seeing them for the next few weeks. 

I reached way back in the archives to last fall when Shiny was modeling the exact outfit she's wearing this week. 

I can't wait to get her coat looking like this again! Her winter coat is so pale and dull. Her spring coat hasn't really started coming in yet, or if it has, it's still hiding under what's left of her winter hair. 

Bridle: Pinnacle
Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

Look at that pretty face! Currently there is a LOT more ear hair.

Saddle: Custom Saddlery
Saddle Pad: Mattes

I'm not sure why, but I really love tan saddle pads. Especially this one.

Boots: Uhlan

I really am impressed with the quality of these boots for how inexpensive they were. Not sure that will be the case with all the tariffs coming... But if you're interested, grab a pair before that happens! But I have to confess, I accidentally put these in the dryer and they shrunk a little bit. Still totally functional, but they are a bit smaller.

That's it for today! Next week will be fun, promise. Unless I somehow forget. Which is possible. Today I lost my keys temporarily because I left them in my door after I locked it. I'm almost 45, so I guess it's time the memory went.

What's Up Wednesday

 

Okay, so I shouldn't complain because upstate NY (and north from there too) got actual snow yesterday. But I'm still gonna complain because last night was in the 20's. What kind of BS is that in April? And that meant it was barely above freezing when I got to the barn this morning. Stupid. Needless to say, we've been riding inside a lot. Thank goodness I don't do silly things like bring my horses home before May so I have access to an indoor. 

ANYWAY, you're not here for a weather report. I don't think. Are you? It is an important part of horsing that is for sure. How many times a day do you check the weather so you know how to dress your horses? Easily 10 times for me. Sorry. I derailed again. Let's talk about horses!

Shiny is still struggling to find her motivation. I think she's having some allergies (me too, girl, me too) which doesn't help matters. But also, she got bit by a tick at the end of last week, so that has me concerned. She has chronic lyme, so I worry this might invite a flare up. We're doing round one of spring shots a week from tomorrow though, so I'm going to pull Lyme titers on all of them just to check in. I figure another obstacle to her wanting to put in real work is that her saddle for sure needs some adjustments after her weight loss journey. Fortunately, one of the other boarders has a Custom Saddlery rep coming out to check her saddle on Monday and we tagged on to that appointment. I've been doing more rides with the bareback pad in the meantime to try and see if that makes any difference in how she's moving. Now that she's so svelte though, I am definitely working harder in the bareback pad, so I haven't made that an everyday thing. My legs would would probably fall right off. Our body worker will be back from Florida once we're home too, so I bet that will also be helpful. When Shiny had her feet trimmed a couple weeks ago she was trying to get the farrier to adjust her. He did not know how. Lol. Despite all of the above, she's not unwell or anything scary like that. She just doesn't want to work. She's still bright, eating well, and annoyed by the very existence of all the other horses on earth. And honestly with the crazy weather, I don't really want to work either. So there's that.

Eros has been putting in some WORK with his equibands lately. Now that we're using both the belly and the bum band, I'm really feeling a difference in how he carries himself. We haven't built up to a full ride in both yet. He does a full ride with the belly band now, and we are up to ten minutes with the bum band on as well. But once I remove the one band, he still keeps the posture the rest of the ride, and usually for the next few days too. It's amazing how much it helps him. He feels significantly more sound when he's carrying himself properly too which is an added bonus for sure. I'm getting excited for summer with him! I was hoping to have our Butet rep out today to figure out how to fix this saddle properly and/or get it replaced with something else, but unfortunately she got hit by the awful flu that's going around. So we're on hold with that for another little bit. 

I just noticed today that Al's little bit of white on his nose has really spread in the last couple of years. When he first arrived that white spot on his nose was just a little square on his nostril, but now it's kind of turning into a legit snip. Kinda funny! I've never seen a marking change like that. I've seen stars kind of spread out as a horse gets old and gray, or a scar grow in white, but a spreading out little bitty snip is a new one for me! 

As you might have guessed the up and down weather and constantly changing rings has been a bit of a challenge for Al. But he's really trying to handle it, and I give him credit for that. Sunday two of the other boarders were planning to jump, and I opted to join them with Al. We were indoors which I knew would be a challenge. But we were up for it! Plus the jumps were all trot-able. Like MAYBE they were 2'. I had walked the line they set and called a three, and it walked exactly in 2... But being indoors and the jumps were so tiny, I wasn't sure how that would actually ride for us. So we trotted in and cantered out of there in a nice easy three. He really was pretty good. We had to avoid the ends,  and never really achieved a flowing canter, but we popped over all the jumps with no major catastrophes so I'm calling it a win. Hopefully next time we can be outdoors. FINGERS CROSSED because there's a lot more rain coming. Sheesh. 

Yesterday when outside with his buddies I heard a rumor that Al was doing a little running around. So today he was a bit tired and we had the nicest ride in the indoor! Probably the most relaxed he's been in there yet. Relaxed, but also FORWARD! Miracles can happen my friends. 

I keep having to remember to keep my brain on, and that sometimes a walk break to reset can make a huge difference. My rides on him are the longest of all my horses, but the more patient I can be, the more he relaxes and the more we can actually accomplish. I always thought I was a pretty patient person, but Al is proving that to be untrue. He's definitely teaching me a lot. Not just about riding, but about myself too. He's a tough one, but he for sure came into my life for a reason. I'm not sure what this summer will bring for us because I'm not sure how much money I'll have to play with. But I would REALLY like to get him to some shows and hopefully get back on track. I miss jumping big jumps on him, but more than that I miss having those confident rides with him. And I know we can get that back. Fingers crossed it happens this summer! (But no pressure if it doesn't.)

I feel like most of these recap posts are just more of the same lately, so hopefully you're not all bored to tears over here. Summer is coming though, so things should get more exciting (in good ways only!) in the next few weeks. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

***DISCLAIMER***
I don't want today's confession to be taken the wrong way, because absolutely I'm at a point in my equestrian life where I will do everything in my power to make sure my horses are comfortable and thriving. 

We used to show on grass regularly. This was at Shallowbrook.

That said, sometimes I wish I could go back to my early days of ignorance. Long ago, in my youth, horsing was a lot different than it is now. We rode on all kinds of terrible footing. Wet footing, slippery footing, deep footing. UNEVEN footing! The horrors! And no, horses weren't more sound back then. But our diagnostics also weren't as good. Probably we didn't realize half the time when the horse was just a little off. We had a term called "Serviceably Sound" in which the older horses might have a wee hitch in their get-a-long but they got along okay. Growing up, I remember a lesson horse that only cantered one direction. Probably she had raging EPM but we didn't know what that was yet. Now that I think about it, that same horse tripped and fell down with me the second time I ever jumped. Yep, probably had EPM. Ah, hindsight. (Also, this may have contributed to my being a giant weenie... not the EPM but the falling down while learning to jump.) 

Blurry photo of the big field at Fairfield on a bright sunny day
(with good footing)

I remember showing at Stoneleigh Burnham one summer in the junior hunters (back then there was only one height for the junior hunters, and that was 3'6"). It was raining so hard I couldn't actually see where the jumps were until we were a stride out. We didn't scratch! That was unheard of! The show went on! (I was champion because appendix horses aren't little princesses like today's warmbloods.) Another time we were showing on the big grass field at Fairfield. It had been raining for DAYS. The grass was both muddy and slippery. Jumps were still 3'6" but we were allowed to use bell boots in the hunters that day. My friend's horse lost both front shoes in a single class. I can assure you, if I faced either of these situations today I'd be at home enjoying a rain day on my couch. 

Here we are jumping in a ring that was literally 
a parking lot when we had horse shows. (Still is in fact.)

And the reason I bring this up is that footing is making it rather tricky to get my horses really back in the groove this spring. The weather tricked us with some beautiful spring days a couple weeks ago. Now it's back to being stupid cold (my horses have heavies back on, 20's tonight!), insanely windy, and rain nearly every day. Ahhh spring in New England. It's delightful. 

I'm so old, when I showed at Indoors (I think this is Washington,
but it might have been Capital Challenge) they just had sand in the 
arenas. None of the new age stuff we have now!

The footing at the boarding barn is very different from the indoor to the outdoor. The indoor has TravelLite footing which is the paraffin wax stuff. It's nice because it's dust free, but it can get packed down and hard. I think they either really need to get in there and dig it up to get it fluffier or they need to add a little more footing. For my horses though, I prefer a little harder vs something deep. We've had our share of soft tissue problems (looking at you Eros...) so harder is better in that respect. Then there's the outdoor. The outdoor has sand footing similar to what I have at home, but it's a heavier sand than mine and it could use about an inch or two less of it. Too bad it's not the same stuff as in the indoor as that would be a nice fix for both rings! Knowing what I know now about horses and soundness, I'm really careful about transitioning back to the deeper footing outside. But with the weather, it's just been so inconsistent. I feel like we're constantly starting over with the reconditioning out there. And getting not much accomplished otherwise. If this was 30 years ago (boy am I old!) I wouldn't think twice about this stuff. I'd just work the horses! And probably they'd be just fine. Or maybe I just wouldn't notice if they weren't. 

This kid knew nothing about soundness. I can guarantee that! 
Nor fashion sense... The helmet. The too big jacket. THE MISMATCHED BRIDLE.

Obviously I'm glad to know what I know now. And also obviously I would never want to purposely risk injuring my horses. All I'm saying is ignorance certainly was bliss!

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! I forgot... many of today's photos, but nothing is new so I think I may be able to pull from the archives for those. Let's give it a shot! Eros modeled for us today, and here's what he had on:

Photo from yesterday when he was working on his fitness inside. We actually got to ride outside today. In the fog. Couldn't see a thing!

Bridle: Pinnacle
Brow Band: Boy O'Boy Bridleworks

I think when we move him for the summer I need to give these bridles a good oiling. They are aging so nicely, and getting so soft! But I can tell they would like me to take care of them at least a little bit. Which is fair. For an inexpensive bridle I definitely recommend these.

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Saddle Pad: Catago

I had to dig deep into the archives for this one! I think that's Al's saddle in this photo, but of course I'm using Eros' now. We rode in the Catago version of the Equiband system, but we did have the back strap on for part of the ride also. I honestly am really impressed with how much using the bands helps Eros use himself better. Not only while it's on, but he really retains that feel when they come off. And he feels SO GOOD when he's using his hind properly and lifting his back. There's so much power still in this horse. 

Wraps: Eskadron

I like these wraps for winter, but I do prefer the polo wraps version for the warmer months. I'd like to get a black pair one of these days.

So that's what Eros was wearing this week, and here's what I had on:

Still doing the whole green, tan, brown thing. One of these days we'll mix it up again. 

Helmet: One K CCS MIPS

Glad I snapped this photo last week... Haha! You've seen this helmet a LOT lately.

Sweater: Liny Xin

I have a bunch of these sweaters that come from Amazon. They're merino, so nice and cozy warm, yet still can be machine washed. (No dryer though!) They hold up pretty well, and I love them for the barn because they're inexpensive. 

Belt: The Sugar Lady (Etsy)

This is Rio's belt, the fancy stitch part is made from his tail hair. I LOVE this belt so much. The Sugar Lady did a beautiful job with it, and she let me help design it. I love the PonyLocks belts (that's where Jamp's is from) but I wanted something different for Rio's tail hair. Mostly because he and Jamp both had black tails so a second belt like that seemed redundant. But also, Rio was extra special and I wanted a more unique design for him. This definitely fits the bill!

Breeches: RJ Classics

My room is a terrible place to photograph breeches in the morning. These are hunter green. You've seen them a lot, I know. My green TS breeches are size 26, and I'm solidly a 28 at the moment... so these are the ones I reach for most often. 

Boots: Horka

These seem to be my go to boots for spring weather. I don't worry too much about them getting wet or dirty since they are meant to look wet and dirty. 

And that's it for today! Sorry about the archive photos, but hey, better than nothing! 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Well spring is over and it's winter again so that's pretty disappointing. But it IS only early April so I really can't complain. I mean I WILL, but I shouldn't. Ha. Poor Al has been back indoors two days in a row this week, and while he's making a huge effort to behave himself, he's definitely hating every second. The other two really don't care much. Thank goodness for them. 

Nothing too crazy and exciting has been going on over here with the weather being so up and down. Wind, cold, rain, more wind... We've had it all! Friday was pretty nice though, and Al did some more jumpies outside. He was so good! We even jumped a couple 2'6" fences, so clearly, things were getting very serious. 

Then winter came back... But we'll be back at out there as soon as we can! Rain tomorrow, so I dunno... maybe by the weekend. We'll see what the footing does. 

Eros got to have a half hour out in the grass field Saturday morning, but then he removed one of his shoes that were just done on Thursday so he has now lost his grass field privileges. He's lost a shoe nearly every time he's been down there. And honestly, the fields are still too wet to really have horses on them just yet. I'm lucky he just pulled a shoe and not a tendon. I definitely should have gone down there myself before giving permission for him to go out. My bad. Thankfully, no harm done and his shoe was back on Sunday morning. (My farrier is the best.) I let him jump some on Friday too and he was slightly less or a torpedo than he was the time before. I can't get mad at him though, he's just having the best time ever. Best boy.

Shiny got to go adventuring in the fields twice this week! Once was planned and another was somewhat less planned. She just really loves riding out. I hope everything dries up before we leave so we can get to the far field again. I have a feeling that won't happen because it's gearing up to be a rainy spring. But you never know! Weatherman are rarely accurate. 

Like I said, not too much really happening over here with the horses. Plugging along, working on our fitness. That sort of thing. But a big development in our spring plans, is that the sale of my childhood barn seems to have fallen through. It's back on the market and fingers crossed this time it finds a horsey buyer. So as it stands now, they'll be running shows all summer, which means I don't have to stress about trying to get to that April show that's the same weekend as the clinic at my winter barn. Which is also the last weekend before we move home. It was going to prove to be a VERY busy weekend. So now it let's stressful. I got a call to braid some horses for that show too, so I'd much rather make some money than spend it. 

In other nostalgia fun, I had dinner tonight with some old friends from high school. Two of them I see at least once or twice a year, but the other two I'm not sure I've seen in person since we graduated. Both were really close friends when we were tiny kiddos, so it was so wonderful to catch up. We were all pretty similar personality types growing up and it was fun to see that not much has changed with any of us. Save for being older and wiser of course. Hopefully we can do it again, but maybe sooner than 27 years for the next time. Ha! 

So that was a lot of excitement for this old woman. I'll need to crawl back into my introvert bubble for a few days to recuperate. How's the weather where you are? Are you having real spring, or are you back to 49th winter too?

Truthful Tuesday

 

Hahaha.... Guess what. I broke the rules again. And again I did it on purpose. But this time, I changed my expectations. And you know what? It was a lovely ride! Imagine that. 

Let me elaborate. Today, similarly to last Tuesday, winter has returned. We got a lot of rain overnight last night, so the outdoor ring was too wet for riding. Also, it was low forties with wind gusts to 40 mph, so riding outside was just zero percent appealing. Okay, maybe like 2% appealing. 

Here is where I faced a decision. Do I lunge inside so as to not break the rule I deemed so important last week? Or do I try again without it and see what happens? I decided to try again. But rather than expecting to have a "normal horse" type ride, I instead planned to just get on and see how things go. Start out at the walk like normal on a loose rein. Then pick up the reins and start asking for some shape and more forward. If all goes well, move on to the trot. Again on a loose rein, then adding a little more pressure via asking for shape and more forward. Wash, rinse, repeat, until satisfied. And it was a nice ride! Canter proved to be a little messy, but the trot work, especially at the end of the ride, was SO great. Forward, with impulsion, while still relaxed. It was lovely. And the biggest difference I think was my expectations. I went into this ride thinking we might just walk today. (The wind was really rattling the end doors and whistling around the entire indoor.) Really just going slowly and breaking things down into tiny steps forward seemed to help keep him relaxed and with an ear on me. I don't know if that will be the case every time we have to do something Al doesn't like. But I hope it continues to work for him. 

This horse has been a real lesson in patience for me. Also a good reminder to be a thinking rider. I can't rely on my instincts with him. Instead I have to be thinking ahead and constantly having a conversation with him. Not like actual chatting aloud, but rather always using my aids to keep the communication sort of turned on. And by that I mean seat and leg. Not hand so much. I can feel him get tense as soon as I start using too much hand. Gives him the angst! He really holds me accountable and reminds me when I start making mistakes or falling back on old habits. 

So my confession today is that I broke the rules, on purpose, two weeks in a row, and I learned something completely different each time. So here's to breaking rules and keeping the conversation flowing!